


Someone Significant

by youcanbeking



Category: Free!
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, College, First Meetings, M/M, Party, Partying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 09:29:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3376484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youcanbeking/pseuds/youcanbeking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rei ends up having a lot to thank Gou for. She's the one who dragged him to that party, after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone Significant

**Author's Note:**

  * For [didsw](https://archiveofourown.org/users/didsw/gifts).



“Rei, do you need me to remind you why we’re going to this party in the first place?” Gou said as she ran a straightening iron through her hair, her words muffled by the comb between her teeth. Rei heard the message anyways, though, and groaned.

“Please, no,” he shut his eyes and flopped down on the puffy blue comforter of Gou’s bed. Actually, he was pretty sure this was her _roommate’s_ bed, considering Gou hated the color blue. He was much too agitated to care, though.

“Your mom—”

“Gou!” Rei pressed a circular, frilly pillow to his face to hide his growing embarrassment, mentally apologizing to Gou’s roommate for using her bed as a place to wallow in his self-pity.

“actually _texted_ me—that’s right, Mrs. Ryuugazaki is now tech-savvy, Rei—and told me she was ‘concerned you weren’t branching out enough’—”

“So she suggested we go to a frat party,” Rei cut in, his words bland and sarcastic. That didn’t sound like something his mother would approve of, and judging by the sly smirk on Gou’s face, she knew that, too.

“Well, no,” she giggled. “She wanted me to invite you out with my friends or something. But I thought a party was a better idea! Plus, Rei, it’s not a _frat_ party. My brother’s throwing it and he’s not even in a fraternity. It’s just your average, Saturday night college _part-ay_.”

“Don’t say that,” Rei chucked the pillow across the room, missing Gou’s head by a good two feet. “Your brother probably doesn’t even want me coming.”

“Rin? Are you kidding me? He’ll totally love you!” Gou said. Then she bit her bottom lip, contemplating her next statement. “Plus, there’s gonna be, like, a bunch of people he invited there anyways, so…”

“So you’re sneaking me in,” Rei said, feeling like a complete loser.

“No! No, are you kidding me? He’s my brother, he doesn’t mind if I bring a friend,” she chuckled. “We can’t have him thinking people need to be snuck into his parties. That shithead already has a huge ego as it is.”

Rei wasn’t amused. “Either way, no one will notice if I’m there and no one will notice if I’m not. Sorry Gou, but I think I’ll pass on this one.” He hoisted himself up from the bed and made his way across the small dorm room, fully intending to leave while he still could.

“Oh no you don’t,” Gou said, latching her fingers around his wrist in a death grip. She tugged him back into the center of the room and glared at him. “Idiot, you almost made me burn myself on the straightener! You’re coming to that party tonight and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Just _why_ do you care if I go so much?” He asked in a high pitched voice, no longer trying to sound coolly pissed off about the whole thing. No, at this point, he had swallowed his pride and was downright whining. He even felt himself stomp his foot as he asked the question, which was maybe a little brattier than he had intended.

“Have you ever been drunk before, Rei?” Was all Gou asked, letting go of his wrist and crossing her arms.

He snorted. “I’m nineteen years old. What do you think?”

“So you have?”

Rei’s face contorted into appalled disbelief as he took a step back. “The legal drinking age is 20.”

The room was silent for a minute, and Rei wondered if he got the drinking age wrong, or why Gou was staring at him like he just sprouted a second head.

“Are you…? Rei,” she spoke slowly, a hint of concern in her voice. “You’re in your spring semester of your freshman year in college, and….and you’ve never been drunk before?”

Rei was embarrassed at this point, but he was determined not to let his (apparently “super-experienced”) friend have the upper hand in this one.

“So? There’s nothing wrong with that,” he frowned, pushing his glasses up his nose for the sole purpose of giving himself something to do with his hands. He got fidgety when he was nervous, and he was beginning to sense Gou’s intentions for the night.

“Well, no, I guess there’s not,” Gou admitted. “But I _will_ say you’re missing out. Not for much longer, though.”

Rei’s chest tightened at her implications. “Hey, no, I’m not about to get wasted at a dumb frat party.”

“Oh my God, it’s _not_ a frat party!” Gou threw her hands into the air and turned back to her dresser. “And no one said anything about getting wasted. It’ll do you some good to get a little buzzed, that’s all.” She picked up her straightener again and ran it through her bangs, tousling her locks with her fingers.

“Gou—”

“Hey, Rei, you don’t have to, okay? But you’re one of my best friends, and I really think you need to loosen up a bit. And….so does you mom,” she laughed, clipping a section of hair out of her face. “You’re a nice guy, and I wanna see you make some nice friends.”

“I still don’t see how going to a party will make me ‘nice friends’,” he said, although the fact that Gou seemed to care so much made him feel warm inside. He made his way back to the bed; slowly, hesitantly, and that was enough assurance for his friend that, yes, he would at least try and go to this party. He sat on his hands, rocking back and forth in a sudden bout of nerves.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rei paled. “I—I don’t mean, like—” he was cut off by Gou’s laughter.

“We’re not all alcoholics and druggies, you know,” she paused for a minute, pondering something. “Well, unless you’re Seijuuro Mikoshiba, who’s stoned out his mind seven days a week. Don’t worry about him, though. He just smokes his weed and minds his own business.”

Rei tried as hard as he could to act like that piece of information didn’t phase him; tried to act like he had been around plenty of stoners and drinkers in his life. He hadn’t, though. He simply hadn’t, and Gou knew that. She was a good friend, though, and didn’t point out the way his eyes were ever-so-slightly bulging out of their sockets when drugs and alcohol were brought into the conversation.

“The people I hang with just like to have a few drinks and a good time, so don’t get all freaked out over it. You might even like it!”

“We’ll see about that,” Rei huffed, his mind swirling with nerves.

“Ah, you’ll be fine. Come on, let’s get you ready to party!” Gou said enthusiastically, probably sensing his fears. She gave him a quick once-over and frowned. “There’s no way you’re going there in a button down and tie, though. Not happening.”

Rei didn’t even try to fight it anymore. He just sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, wondering why he ever, even for a split second, thought this was a good idea.

**********

As it turned out, Rin lived off campus, so Rei was more or less saved from his crippling fear that the campus police would shut the whole thing down before it even began. Gou assured him that Rin had thrown plenty of these things before and knew which kids caused the least amount of trouble, but Rei knew that the party wouldn’t be as tame as she was pretending it would be. He appreciated that she was at least _trying_ to make him less nervous, though.

Before they left, she managed to find a pair of jeans in the back of his closet, as well as a blue and white flannel that she ordered him to put on.

“Don’t you dare button that flannel up. Wear a white shirt under it…or something. And roll the sleeves up, it’ll look hotter,” she said before pushing him into the bathroom to change. Rei hadn’t worn a pair of jeans in what felt like months, and he definitely wasn’t used to the exposed feeling he got when he left the flannel unbuttoned, even if he was wearing a white tee underneath it. As per Gou’s request, he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, shaking his head at his unfamiliar reflection in the mirror.

Even as they parked a block away from Rin’s apartment, Rei still pestered her on his appearance, as he felt that his red frames definitely contrasted the entire outfit. Gou, who wore a flattering black dress that was quite a bit shorter than anything she would wear during the daytime, rolled her eyes and insisted that he looked great.

“You look cool. Cooler than you usually do. Have some confidence, man!”

Rei didn’t bother asking what he ‘usually’ looked like and simply followed her through the back door, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. The thick denim felt quite different from his usual khakis, and the flannel felt loose and casual on him. He didn’t necessarily _mind_ the change in wardrobe, though, and as he found himself surrounded by fellow college students dressed equally as informal, he felt like he actually _fit in_ with them.

The main room was crowded with people, and kids were spilling into all of the surrounding rooms in the apartment. It was a decent size, and there were plenty of couches and chairs to occupy. There was some obscure, deep house song playing in the background, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out the noise of partying students and their conversations.

Rei tensed up at all the sudden activity and stimulation around him. Gou, on the other hand, had clearly been to plenty of these events and wasn’t phased in the slightest. She even said hi to a few people as they weaved their way through the crowd, and Rei felt their gazes linger on him once they spotted him following her around. He rolled his eyes when he realized they must assume he’s her boyfriend.

“Where are we going?” Rei said, having to raise his voice a little to be heard.

“We’re gonna go say hi to Rin! He’s probably somewhere in the kitchen….” Gou said, not looking back and sounding distracted by the activity around her. “Oh, there he is. Hey, bro! Over here!”

The first thing Rei noticed was the hair, considering his back was facing them and he was bent over what looked like a cooler full of alcohol. It was the same shade of red as Gou’s, and it was tied back in a messy, low ponytail. When he stood up to full height and turned around to greet them, Rei was surprised to note that he was, in fact, taller than Rin by a few inches. Of course, what Rin lacked in height against Rei, he made up in muscle. He was only wearing a plain, long sleeved shirt, but Rei could tell the guy was built.

“Hey sis, glad you could make it,” he greeted, taking a swig of whatever he had in his red solo cup. His eyes flickered between her and Rei and he grinned. “Is this your boyfriend?”

Rei frowned, and Gou laughed. “No, dummy. This is my friend, Rei! He’s a party animal.”

Rin chuckled at this, and Rei wondered if he was doing that in a mocking way or just because he didn’t know how else to respond to his sister. He decided not to dwell on it, though, because Rin’s eyes seemed genuine and he smiled a lot, so he probably wasn’t a jerk.

“What are you having?” Gou’s gaze fell on the cooler behind Rin and then to his solo cup.

“Ah, just water. I have a race Monday. You guys want anything?” He looked at Rei.

The pressure was on. Rei swallowed, having no idea how to answer the question. Sure, his parents had let him have a bit of wine with them at family parties, and he’d even had beer a few times before, but his experience with hard liquor was beyond unimpressive. Did he even have to drink hard liquor tonight? The only thing that came to his mind was vodka, but who the hell just asks for just vodka at a party they just arrived at? _Yes, Rin_ , he imagined himself saying, _can I just have some_ straight vodka _to start off?_ No, Rei knew kids liked to be fancy and mix their drinks with other things, but the only thing he lacked was the terminology.

Thankfully, Gou saved him before the silence became too awkward. “Do you have any Mike’s Hard? We don’t wanna go too crazy.”

Rin mocked astonishment, dramatically pressing his hand to Gou’s forehead. “Matsuoka Gou? Only wants a _Mike’s Hard_? Is she retiring from her role as a true party animal?”

Gou rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, says the loser drinking water. I’ll be back for some stronger shit later, just get us our fucking lemonade.”

“Are you sure you just want lemonade, Rei?” Rin asked. Rei nodded hastily, although he had absolutely no idea what kind of beverage he just agreed to drink. Rin smiled and ducked away from a minute before returning with two glasses filled with a cloudy, white liquid. It didn’t look much like the pink lemonade Rei used to drink on hot summer days, but he knew better than to expect such a thing. He thanked Rin and took the glass from him, his hand going numb within seconds from the ice cold liquid.

“Well?” Gou asked once they left the kitchen and found a fairly empty spot in the living room to stand in. “Drink some!”

Rei licked his lips and stared into the bottle before him, fixated on the cool mist escaping from the head of the nozzle. He brought his nose to it and gave a sniff, but the liquid came up odorless. Gou had already taken a few sips of hers and was waiting on Rei to try his, her eyes wide with anticipation and an excited smile playing on her lips.

Rei brought the drink closer to his mouth. “Stop staring at me like that,” he snapped when Gou’s face lit up as he was about to tilt the bottle back. “Did you put something in this drink?”

Gou giggled. “No! No, I’m just excited. This is a big moment for you. I’m proud.”

Rei scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Are you gonna put it in my baby book, mom? Rei’s first college party?” Then, acting as though it were no big deal simply to cease amusing Gou with his inexperience, he tilted his chin up and took a swig of the liquid, bracing himself for whatever taste was about to fill his mouth.

To his surprise, the drink actually _did_ taste like lemonade; a relative to it, at least. It had a bit of a kick to it, a slight alcoholic burn that caused a shudder to course through his body as it hit his stomach. He can’t say that he _didn’t_ enjoy it, though. In fact, he took another sip almost immediately after the rush of his first one passed.

“Like it?” Gou asked, clinking her glass against his softly. Rei nodded, trying not to be too enthusiastic about the whole thing. She tilted her head back and took another large swig, sighing loudly as the alcohol ran through her veins. “It’s not too strong, but it’s just what you need sometimes.”

“Gou! Gou-chan!” They were interrupted by a brunette girl who looked to be about their age beckoning her over and waving excitedly from the other side of the room. Gou instantly recognized her and waved back, looking quickly between her friend and Rei. A conflicted expression fell over her features, and Rei gave her a light shove away from him.

“Go see your friends. I’ll be fine. I have to branch out, remember?”

Gou smiled, still looking a little guilty about leaving him. “I’ll come back soon, I promise. I’m just gonna go say hi to them really quick.” She gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder before making her way over to the girl. “Make friends! Socialize!” Her parting words made Rei roll his eyes and take another gulp of lemonade. Yeah, he was definitely enjoying the lemonade a little too much.

He stood alone for a few minutes, simply observing the party around him. Kids were dancing, drinking, talking, or laughing, and no one looked out of place. Well, Rei definitely _felt_ out of place, but as the lemonade in his glass began dwindling down to nothing, he forgot about his worries for a bit. He was still pitifully sober, and he realized that, for college parties, a Mike’s Hard probably wasn’t too strong on the alcohol scale. Still, he definitely enjoyed it, and he definitely wanted another one.

He was glad Gou started him off with such a light drink, and even though he had never been to a college party before, he noted happily how tame this one seems to be. No one seemed shitfaced, at least, and everyone looked like they were just having a good time.

“Alright, Mako, Mako, count me down, will you? This one’s gonna burn.”

A loud, excited voice cut into Rei’s thoughts, and he snapped out of his borderline-buzzed state of mind. He looked to his left, where the voice came from, and spotted a giggly, short blond standing with a small shot glass in his hand. It was filled to the brim with a clear liquid that Rei would have pinned as water had he known better.

Wait, was this blond short, or was his friend just _really_ tall?

“Nagisa, no more after this, okay? This is your fifth shot and you have a test on Monday,” the male had shaggy, brownish hair and was more built than Rin, which Rei didn’t think was possible. He looked genuinely concerned for his shorter friend, and Rei found the whole situation silently amusing.

“Oh come on, I’m not even buzzed! Count me down. Live a little.” The blond, whose name Rei deduced to be Nagisa, bounced excitedly on his toes, ignoring the small splatters of alcohol that spilled out of the overly-full shot glass as he did so.

“How am _I_ living a little by counting _you_ do—”

“I’m gonna get Haru-chan, you party-poope—”

Mako sighed, running a large hand through his already disheveled hair. “Alright, alright, I’ll count you down, happy? Okay, 5…4…3…2…”

“This one goes out to Katsumi for being a big fat man-whore!” Nagisa yelled, bringing the shot glass high up into the air. Mako rubbed his temples as the blond tilted his neck all the way back and poured the substance down his throat, shuddering and shimmying as the liquid burned his insides. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “ _Man,_ that’s good.”

“Nagisa, it’s been, like, a year and a half, are you still upset over him?”

“Nah,” he said, putting the shot glass back on the table with a thump and sliding it away from him. “It’s just fun to call him out like that. Like the time I took a shot and wished for him to get erectile dysfunction. It just kinda makes me feel good inside.”

A look crossed over the taller boy’s face as he tried to mentally move past what his friend just said. “That’s…I mean…whatever helps, I guess.” Nagisa giggled into his hand and hiccupped a little, which made Rei feel lightheaded.

At this point he _felt_ himself staring at the pair. More specifically, he felt himself staring at the blond boy, whose presence he found abstractly alluring. He looked so at ease in his skinny khakis that cut off an inch or two above his ankle, in his quarter zip that hugged his lean frame loosely. He twirled a blond curl around his finger and scanned the room around him, chewing on the inside of his cheek. Rei couldn’t tear his gaze away in time, and their eyes met.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed before a smile broke out on the blond’s face. It could have been seconds, but it felt like a solid minute passed as they stared, a good twenty feet away from each other, and registered the fact that _yes_ , they were complete strangers, but _yes_ , they were both momentarily captivated by the other’s presence. At least, Rei was. And it would be really, _really_ awkward if the whole ordeal was one sided. He looked down bashfully, holding his glasses securely with his thumb and pointer finger, and decided it was a good time to get another drink.

His whole body unwillingly tensed up as he approached the area where Nagisa and his friend stood. He kept his head down, half of him hoping to just slip by unnoticed into the kitchen, the other half of him hoping that the blond would be brave enough to break the ice. Or perhaps three whole quarters of him wanted to start a conversation, but a sad little quarter of him was too scared, too inexperienced with situations like this.

He almost passed them completely, when a voice stopped him. “Hey, you’re in my physics class, aren’t you?”

Rei started, whipping his head up and practically flinching at words he was certain were directed at him. This wasn’t expected. He definitely wasn’t expecting this. He did not expect and actual conversation to take place. It suddenly felt very hot in the apartment, and Rei was suddenly very thirsty for a stronger beverage. He took an awkward step back so he was facing Nagisa, pausing for a beat too long before actually responding. The blond kept quiet, though, and smiled at him. That wasn’t helping his nerves.

“I—uh, am I? Wh-who do you have?” Rei scratched the back of his neck, straining to sound casual and collected. He instinctually raised the empty bottle to his mouth, stopping short when he realized it was exactly that; empty. _Pull yourself together, Rei._

“Professor Fukui! That cranky old bastard…” Nagisa shook his head and laughed softly at his own comment, leaning back against the table behind him. “And yeah, you’re in that class. I know because sometimes I stare at you. I like your red glasses!” Mako’s face dropped and he shot Rei an apologetic look as Nagisa clamped a hand over his mouth, giggles escaping through his fingers.

“I’m really sorry about Nagisa. He’s been drinking a little too much tonight,” he said, throwing his friend a stern look. “He’s not this creepy…usually. I’m Makoto, by the way. Tachibana Makoto.”

Rei felt a deep, scarlet blush color his face, a blush that reached the tips of his ears and caused a dumb smile to erupt over his face. He laughed a little too loudly, needing to somehow release the frenzy of emotions inside of him.

“Ah, no, it’s perfectly fine. I’m Ryuugazaki Rei.” How he stayed remotely composed was beyond him.

“I’m Hazuki Nagisa!” Nagisa said enthusiastically, a large, toothy smile spreading across his face. It was such a wide grin that his eyes went squinty, almost completely shut, and Rei couldn’t help but note what a nice smile he had. While he was at it, he admitted to himself how unbelievably attractive he found, well, everything about his face to be. Not that he ever denied that.

“I’m surprised I haven’t seen you in physics before,” Rei said, mentally recalling how Nagisa admitted to _staring at him during class???_ He was flattered, if he were to be honest about it. Flattered, but also abnormally nervous, because _what the hell had he seen him doing and does he have any weird habits that are about to surface right here and now—_

“I usually sit in the way back! You sit front and center, which is really weird because you doze off all the time. If you sat in back with me you’d get away with it, you know.”

“I—no, I do not!” Rei sputtered, taken aback by Nagisa’s bluntness. He was still wearing his cute smile, though, which softened the blow a bit. “At least I actually watch the teacher and not complete strangers.”

“You watch the back of your eyelids, is what you watch,” Nagisa giggled, looking bashful and even a little _shy_ in contrast to his bold bantering.

Rei was much too worked up over his light teasing, though, and he balled his fists at his sides. He’d never met someone so simultaneously cute and annoying at the same time, but the combination was nonetheless extremely enticing to him. He didn’t know how to flirt back, however, so he announced that he was going to get another drink and silently prayed the blond would follow.

“What’re you getting? I need something, too,” his peppy voice made Rei’s heart speed up, and he felt Nagisa follow his movements to the kitchen.

“Nagisa, haven’t you had enough for tonight?” Makoto called from behind them, face etched with genuine concern. He looked more like a worried mother than a college student at a party, and Nagisa waved him off.

“I’m barely even buzzed! Go find Haru or something, Mako-chan. I’ll be _fine_ ,” he called back, and Rei’s breath caught in his throat when he felt Nagisa’s hand grab onto the back of his flannel so they wouldn’t be separated as they wove through the crowd. He tried to focus on his breathing, wondering why, if Nagisa was in a relatively sober state of mind as he claimed, he would be following Rei around after they just met two minutes ago. He didn’t have enough time to think about possible reasons, though, because suddenly they were in the kitchen, and Nagisa was digging through a large cooler.

“What do you want? There’s not much left…” He pouted as he sorted through the drinks, unable to find something he wanted.

“I…” He was just as clueless as when Rin asked that question the first time and blurted out the only name he could remember. “Are there any Mike’s Hard Lemonade’s left?” He realized a little too late that people referred to it as just _Mike’s Hard_ , and cursed at himself for sounding like a complete loser. He figured Nagisa didn’t notice his unique terminology, though, because he kept digging around in the cooler in pursuit of Rei’s requested beverage.

“No, sorry,” he said finally. “But there are a few more bottles of Samuel Adams’ Beer. Can I interest you in a taste?” Nope, he definitely noticed. Little shit.

“Yeah, why not,” Rei mumbled, much to Nagisa’s amusement. The blond laughed and handed him a dark brown bottle which was dripping wet from sitting in a cooler filled with melting ice. Rei grimaced and took it, frowning when his hand felt instantly cold and wet. Nagisa had taken the liberty to open it for him and there was a swirl of mist coming out of the nozzle, inviting him to take a sip. _Just drink it, Rei. How bad can it possibly be?_

As if he’d had the beer a million times before, Rei brought the bottle to his lips and took a large swig. It was crisp and fizzy, a tad more bitter than Mike’s Hard. As the liquid slid down his throat and into his stomach, he decided that he liked it.

“So, I hate to be an asshole,” Nagisa said once he swallowed his first sip. “But you were standing all alone before we started talking. Who’d you come here with?”

Rei laughed, pretending not to be embarrassed that Nagisa noticed how out of place he was in this environment. “My friend Gou kind of made me come here. She’s actually Rin’s sister.”

“Ah, I see. Is she your girlfriend?” Nagisa asked with a sly smile. Rei almost regurgitated his beer.

“Absolutely not.” His defiance only made Nagisa laugh harder, especially when Rei adjusted his glasses in irritation. Either alcohol made him giggly, or he just laughed a lot in general.

“Hey, I’m sorry. Nothing wrong with being single.”

“Wait, who said I was single?” Rei asked, only a slightly offended.

“ _Are_ you?” Nagisa asked with a hand on his hip. Rei’s lack of a response was answer enough, and the blond shook his head thoughtfully. “Yeah, you and me both. Relationships suck, anyways. Either they only date you to get in your pants, or they cheat on ya when you wanna wait.” He took a long gulp of beer, and Rei recalled the peculiar “man whore” comment he made earlier before taking a shot.

“I take it you would know,” he said gently, hoping he wasn’t intruding on Nagisa’s personal experiences too much.

“Unfortunately, yeah. I dated this serious asshole about a year ago. Like, all my friends told me he was bad news, but I was too stupid to listen. He only wanted one thing, and it wasn’t love.”

Rei swallowed, feeling the shift in conversation suddenly turn to something very personal. Nagisa had opened up to him out of nowhere, as though they were close friends. He didn’t mind, though. He didn’t mind at all. He only wanted to wipe the frown off of his face, because the blond’s sadness was making _Rei_ sad. He couldn’t think of anything in time, though, and Nagisa filled the silence.

“Once I gained an ounce of respect for myself and stopped fucking him, he cheated on me,” he laughed dryly, humorlessly. He focused on the other end of the room, eyes never meeting Rei’s. “My biggest regret is that I didn’t dump him sooner.”

Rei let the words hang in the air for a moment, unsure of how to respond. “I’m….I’m really sorry that happened,” he said finally, meaning every word of it. He hoped he sounded genuine. Nagisa sighed heartily.

“Ah, it’s okay. Fuck, I didn’t mean to get like this.” He looked regretful. “I would say you can blame the booze for that one, but I’m still pretty sober, and it’s getting really annoying.”

“Sometimes you need to just talk about things,” Rei said, almost automatically. “It’s okay.”

Nagisa raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you a therapist or something?” His cheeks were pink.

“No,” Rei said thoughtfully. He grinned. “Why, do you want me to be?”

Nagisa was in the middle of taking a sip of beer and choked on the liquid as soon as he processed what was said. “I—you don’t—no, no way I’m burdening you with my life story. You’re just too nice to say you don’t care.”

Rei felt bold at this point. He had just enough alcohol in his system to give him that little bit of confidence to say things he normally wouldn’t say, to be a little more flirtatious than usual. “I do care, though.”

To his surprise, though, Nagisa was having none of it. “Oh, shut it. The guys who tell me they ‘care’ are the ones just looking to get in my pants.” He frowned, an apologetic look falling over his features. “I don’t peg you as that type, though, so don’t prove me wrong.”

Rei’s booze-induced confidence was deflated, and he felt a sober bout of embarrassment overtake his composure. That’s what he gets for trying to be suave. “I-I’m not! I…I’ve only dated a few people, a-and—”

He was cut off by bubbly laughter and a hand resting on his shoulder. “Ah man, you’re great. You’re too dorky to be a manizer.”

Rei looked past the dork comment as his face twisted in confusion. “Man…manizer?”

Nagisa took a long swallow of beer and rolled his eyes, seemingly reliving his past experiences with the word. “You know, like, a manizer.”

“Clearly I don’t know—”

“A womanizer, but for men. He plays men. Like, man whores. Dirty, rotten cheaters—”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Rei said before Nagisa became too fired up. “I’ve just never heard that term before.”

“The more you know…” Nagisa said absentmindedly. He didn’t appear to be listening to what Rei said, though, and looked preoccupied with something. An idea struck him and he turned to the taller boy with an adventurous look in his eyes. “Hey, you wanna get out of here?”

Rei paled, his eyes bulging out of their sockets at the connotations to that statement. “Wh—didn’t you _just_ say you didn’t—”

“No, no, not like that! Geesh, you’re a perv, huh? No, there’s this really cute bakery-slash-diner a few blocks down the street. We can walk there! It’s only like, 9:15 right now, and they’re open til 10:30.”

Rei thought about the proposal. He definitely wasn’t having too much fun at the party (that is, unless Nagisa was talking to him), and he didn’t feel like sticking around until whatever ungodly hour of the morning it went until. Before he could answer, though, the blond threw in another option with a sly smirk.

“Unless you wanna stay here and dance with me or something. I’m pretty good at grinding.”

Rei’s face darkened to a red that was comparable to the shade of his glasses, and he swallowed thickly. He actually would’ve been fine with that, too, but there was no way he would ever admit to it. “Th-the bakery sounds nice.”

Nagisa smiled at his reaction. “Yeah, I figured. Alright, let’s ditch this party.”

***********

Nagisa had another shot before they left, insisting that he was far too sober and complaining about what a hard life heavyweights have. Rei just rolled his eyes and finished off his Sam Adam’s. He was definitely feeling buzzed, but thankfully still in good control of his senses.

That one shot seemed to push Nagisa over the edge, though, and he was dancing between the lines of being buzzed and actually quite _drunk_ the entire walk to the diner. He got touchy, too, and latched onto Rei’s arm (partially to balance himself, perhaps) with no sign of letting go. Rei was feeling giggly himself, and found himself hiccupping an abnormal amount.

“Can I call you Rei- _chan_?” Nagisa droned into the sleeve of Rei’s jacket.

“Mm,” he answered without thinking. Nagisa made a noise akin to a squeal, and Rei felt the sound vibrations in his arm.

“Rei-chan, the diner is right up here!” His voice was definitely too excited for something as mundane as arriving at a diner, but in an instant his hand slid down Rei’s arm and laced through his fingers, tugging him along to the entrance. Rei jogged to keep up, sober enough to mumble something to Nagisa about how he should slow down or he’ll fall on his face.

His comment struck Nagisa as hilarious, though, and Rei had to physically clamp his mouth shut before they entered the bakery so they wouldn’t be kicked out immediately. He found a small booth in the back where they could sit without causing too much ruckus, and was surprised when the diner wasn’t as empty as he thought it would be.

“I used to come here a lot during high school. With Mako-chan and everyone,” Nagisa said with a content glint in his eyes.

“You went to high school with Makoto?” Rei asked, not expecting Nagisa to be sober enough to actually hold a conversation.

“Yep! I’ve actually known him since middle school. And Haru-chan, but you didn’t meet him. He was off with Rinrin when you came over, I think.”

Rei nodded, having no idea how to respond to that statement. _Oh man, Haru-chan’s off with Rinrin again??? You don’t say._ This would have been easier, Rei thought, if he actually knew anything about Nagisa’s friends. Nagisa’s life in general, really. So he decided he would ask.

One small question, as it happened, turned into Nagisa’s entire life story, from when he was just a little kid all the way to sitting in a diner with Rei. He had been swimming since he was four years old, and started a swim team with Haruka and Makoto when he was a first year at Iwatobi High School. They had no other members, though, so once his two old friends graduated, the swim team couldn’t continue and Nagisa had to quit swimming.

“It’s not like I wanted to do it in college or anything, like Haru-chan and Rin-chan do. But,” he sniffed, and Rei stiffened when it looked like the blond was about to cry right in front of him. He straightened at the last moment, though, and wore a simple frown to display his sadness. “But I wanted to be a captain third year! That was gonna be my _year,_ Rei-chan. I worked so hard…”

“Man, that’s awful. I’m really sorry,” Rei frowned, thinking about his third year when he got to be captain of the track team. He had worked so hard for it the two years before, and the reward of being a captain was something he still cherished.

“No, it’s okay,” Nagisa sighed. “I’m drunk and everything is seems worse, I think.”

“Perhaps,” Rei said, realizing his own buzz had mostly calmed down and he was thinking much clearer than a few hours ago. “But it’s still too bad, what happened. I’m….I’m sure you were a beautiful swimmer.”

Nagisa gushed, bringing both hands to cover the shy smile that spread across his face. “Rei-chan, you’re too nice! I wasn’t _that_ good.”

Rei was honestly about to make some comment about Nagisa’s nice physique, about how he was certain that boy would’ve made a fantastic swimmer, but caught himself when he realized how creepy that would’ve been. He settled on, “Don’t sell yourself short,” instead, which is what he always used to tell his teammates when they were down on themselves.

Rei continued asking random questions about himself, because he wasn’t sure the blond would be this open when he wasn’t a little bit buzzed. He wanted to know more about _him_ , not just his dating history (which he could tell was a little messy) and friends. Rei learned things about him through observation, too, which he found just as interesting and valuable. He learned that Nagisa had a habit of playing with his hair, and loved twirling a curl around his finger as he talked. He learned that he had a habit of saying “you know?” and “um” when he had nothing else to say. He learned that his eyes were arguably the most expressive part of his face, and they conveyed every bit of emotion he was feeling.

He learned that Nagisa often made himself laugh, and when he did, he would cover his mouth with his hand and his eyes would smile as his shoulders shook up and down, trying to restrain a laugh that made Rei’s insides feel warm.

By the time it was 10:15, Rei felt like he had known Nagisa for years. It’s amazing, he thought, how one moment, someone can be a complete stranger to you, but the next moment you could be sitting in a diner with them at 10:00pm, coming back from a buzz together, talking and joking like you’re longtime friends. It just didn’t feel real, and Rei had a sinking feeling that it was one-sided, that he was the only one who felt like he had found someone…significant.

“What time is it, anyways?” Nagisa said after a big yawn. He rubbed at his eyes and waited for Rei to check his watch.

“It’s…” he fumbled with his watch. “It’s 10:20. This place closes in ten minutes.”

“Aw man, we didn’t even eat anything, did we?” Nagisa whined. “We should come back here sometime soon and actually _order_ someth—”

As soon as he caught what he was saying, Nagisa let his words trail off shyly. He looked down at his hands, and the connotations of what he had just said hung in the air for a moment. So he did want to see Rei again. That made him feel better, at least, even though his heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest.

“The food here is just—it’s really good,” Nagisa said after a moment.

“Y-yeah. I…like good food.” Smooth.

Nagisa nodded awkwardly, seemingly debating what his next words would be. Then, with no warning, he sucked in a breath and blurted it out all at once: “I didn’t get to learn anything about you which is okay because you got to know me but I really want to know stuff about you but I’m really tired right now and also I want us to have a reason to see each other again so I should just leave now and take your number—”

Rei’s head was spinning. The blond kept babbling on and on nervously, fidgeting with his fingers and not daring to look make eye contact. Admittedly, he was saying everything Rei wanted to hear. He hadn’t been planning on letting Nagisa out of his sight until he at least gave him his number, but what he _hadn’t_ expected was for _Nagisa_ to have a similar plan himself. Butterflies erupted in his stomach, and words became impossible to form.

To quiet Nagisa before he made himself sick, Rei shushed him by placing his index finger over his lips, which were moving a mile a minute. Once he registered what had happened, the blond smile sheepishly and backed away from his finger as blood rushed to his cheeks. “I’m…I’m sorry about that,” he said weakly.

“No, it’s…” Rei pulled his hand back, the movement awkward and nervous. “I would like to tell you about myself. Or…um…I would love t-to see you again. Sometime soon.”

“Y-yeah! Uh, soon. I…liked talking to you,” he said, almost embarrassed. “And I’m glad we didn’t stay at that dumb party.”

Rei laughed, though it sounded more like a snort. “Yeah, me too.”

Gou would have his ass in the morning. He was sure of it. Or maybe it would be in the afternoon, because God knew she would be too hung over to function before 3:00pm. But Rei, from the bottom of his heart, could have cared less in that moment. Because he was walking next to Nagisa, his new friend, back to campus where they would have to part ways for the night. Nagisa wasn’t clinging to his arm this time like he was the way over, though. The pair actually had both of their hands shoved into their pockets, and their shoulders barely ever brushed.

But Rei still felt the closeness. He still felt like he was bonding with someone who he just _clicked_ with, even if they also clashed in some ways. They didn’t really _need_ any physical closeness then, because they had both admitted to each other that they had to meet again, and that was enough. Perhaps, Rei thought, physical closeness would come in _time_ , but it’s certainly nothing to rush, and things would be taken slow, and—

Rei stopped himself in his hectic train of thought. He took a deep breath and brushed his shoulder against Nagisa’s gently, hoping it seemed accidental, contenting himself with the fact that he had found someone significant tonight.

Someone who he was going to see again. Soon.

**Author's Note:**

> for you, diya! i hope you like it :) this was challenging to write and i really dont think i did a great job with it but i know i did the best i could with the idea i had so i will post this contentedly :) ive always kinda liked the idea that nagisa is a little more experienced (even though ive defintiely said that's overdone in the past i still...kinda like it) but i made sure rei wasnt completely inexperienced when it came to dating bc i hate when people do that. 
> 
> but you cant tell me he would experiment with drugs and alcohol on his own i refuse to believe it haha.
> 
> tumblr: narutorun


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